Rating: 
Summary: Problems installing older products
Review: I don't seem to have to many problems with XP, until i tried to install my HP desktop 960c printer and my, Hp scanjet 5300c. I had to go to HP's website just to download the software because the software that comes with the products is not XP verified. I do get serious errors alor on certain websites or playing certain games. I get a midi error and causes the system to shutdown and reboot by itsself. I tried to install XP updates and it crashed my system, changed programs and Word 2002 it changed some of the saved files to unreadable, ended up doing a system restore to get it out. System Restore is suppose to return the system to its last saved state, but it doesn't always delete the stuff installed that is screwing up the system. It also restores folders that i had deleted with nothing in them. XP uses alot of ram, i run 512 dd ram on a p4 2.o it alwasy uses at least 55% of ram even when i am not using the computer.
Rating: 
Summary: Well worth the investment!
Review: Ease of installation, EXTREMELY user friendly, incredible multi-tasking ability, smooth page transitions and stable system are only the beginning of the positives I could mention. As a web page designer I have been totally impressed with this OS. Having run everything from TRS-80 to WIN 2000 this is hands down the most functional and "no brainer" OS you can find. After 8 months use I have not had one problem I could mention. The wizards in this program are there anytime you have a question and if you run a faulty program the system will not go down with it. With "System Restore", even if you install a bad program, you can instantly return to your previous settings. No more fear about crashing or locking up your system! I could list all the specifics I like about XP but suffice to say if you try it you won't look back.
Rating:
Summary: Good results with update from Me
Review: For what it's worth...I upgraded from Windows Me, which always caused me lots of problems in terms of slow performance, trouble booting up, screen freezes, etc. The XP upgrade was totally without problems, compared with some of the difficulties reported by other users. (Though my machine is only a couple of years old.) Performance has been great so far...boots up much more reliably, with not a single screen freeze to date. From my inexpert perspective, this is a much smoother-running and more reliable system than any previous Windows product. Good luck!
Rating: 
Summary: Why upgrade to XP and why the Pro version?
Review: If you have Windows ME, you will want to upgrade (ME being one of the most annoying operating systems ever from Microsoft.) But what about upgrading if you have Windows 2000, which is relatively stable and a very good OS, overall?Windows XP DOES boot faster. I counted it off, and if you keep your desktop reasonable clear of icons, it boots in about 10 seconds, at least on my 900MHz PC. I have not yet had to reboot my system due to an inexplicable hang-up (something that happened from time to time with ME.) I also run this on a laptop (Toshiba Satellite) and the power management feature for dimming the screen and managing the battery is welcome, as the Toshiba battery uptime is a bit limited. All in all, I am quite pleased with XP. Why the Pro version and not the home version, which is the one that usually comes with new PC's right now? I've heard that a lot of new software applications are being developed on and for Professional Version and not the Home Version.
Rating:
Summary: The best from Microsoft yet - Windows XP Professional
Review: Well, if you are reading this then I guess you are trying to decide whether or not to buy Win XP Professional. Either that or you're just really bored. Either how, this is based on Professional, however if you are curious about the Home version, this may still be of some help since they are very similar from what I've heard. So read on and be enlightened. I'm going to go ahead and give my verdict here. I'm rating on three categories, ease of use, compatibility and stability. Ease of use is pretty good; there are wizards for most anything you need to do and first time computer users will probably feel comfortable with Win XP. However, it will take a bit of an adjustment for those used to Windows 9x. When it comes to compatibility XP is not as bad as some have feared, but there are still some problems, which I'll get into later. As far as stability goes, I'm simply amazed. I've yet to see a Blue Screen of Death, or have to reboot because of the OS. Another nice feature is how fast the system boots up (starts). XP allows you to go from a cold start to having programs to work with much faster than Windows98 - no more long waits as little lines roll across the program's launch window. I will start with ease of use. And when it comes to that I may as well start with the install. It's painless. I've done this install overtop of an old Win 98 SE install, and on a clean disk. Both times went great. When you install it overtop of 98, all your old settings stay the same and no files are deleted. When it is installed on a clean disk, it works just as well, except for one question which someone new to the NT based OS might find strange. It asks how you want the disk to be formatted, and gives choices such as NT or FAT 32. The two things that worry people most about installing XP are product activation and the product key code. Product activation has not bothered me once since the install, and I chose to do it later, never gave me any trouble. And if you are too lazy to type in a key code, then I don't see how you got the motivation to install XP to begin with. So now you've got XP installed, and you want to know what it does to make your life easier. There are wizards to do anything you want in XP, and the nice thing is that they are easy to follow for people who don't know what they are doing, but don't get in your way either. Another nice touch is the most recently used programs list. Picture the recent documents folder on your start menu, but with programs. You can choose to arrange files in much better ways now, such as in groups, or by track duration for mp3's. Basically, it plays nicer with mp3's and digital devices. And if a program doesn't run under XP, you can use the Compatibility Mode to fix many of these problems. Gamers will love XP - the speed at which video games operate is noticeably improved.
Another cool feature - Fast User Switching. Five people in your house may use the computer - each with different bookmarks and documents. XP makes it easier to share one machine among a lot of people. Windows XP will have a revamped interface with rich colours and textures in icons, buttons, toolbars and menus. A larger Start menu automatically displays icons of frequently used applications. The Control panel, My Computer and other system folders link to common file management tasks and organize icons into novice-friendly categories. You can of course disable most of these features and then Windows XP will look similar to Windows ME & 2000. Windows XP includes all of Windows ME consumer oriented add-ons and improves on some of them. There are Camera & Scanner Wizards and the associated My Pictures folder is bursting with ways to preview, copy & print images from your PC or attached digital camera. Windows XP also supports the new Picture Transfer Protocol for camera connections. Included is the new Windows Media Player 8 which is more streamlined & customizable than earlier versions and also plays DVD's. It also has the ability to burn CD's.
Windows Media Audio & Video files will sound & look better while using less disk space. Microsoft says it has improved the encoding algorithm for both formats and has added a new 750kbps video stream rate (geared towards cable & DSL connections) that approximates DVD quality.
Windows XP also has Windows ME's System Restore feature which lets you roll back the system to an earlier configuration and has a new safety net. The automated System Recovery wizard in the Backup program will guide you to create a boot floppy/CD-Recordable combo that you can use to recover from a hard disk crash or other problem. This feature is not included in the Home Edition.
Both versions of Windows XP include a personal firewall.
Next up is compatibility. Here is where XP looses points. First, Earthlink software will not work on XP or Win 2k for that matter. Burnt CD's seem to be a problem for XP as well. The OS would not recognize that there was anything at all several different disks full of mp3s. I was unable to install Unreal under XP, but games seemed to work well for the most part. Stability is where XP really shines. Other than that XP has yet to crash, slow down, or glitch. That's not to say that programs themselves don't crash, but when they do they don't take XP down with them. If you are used to Windows 2000 then XP is every bit as stable. If you are currently running Windows 9x then expect much greater stability in XP. The only reboots necessary are for hardware and some software installs. Windows XP is not without its flaws however. Like most software when it is first released there are bugs. Many of these can be fixed with Windows Update, and XP's auto update makes keeping up to date on patches simple. The update can be set to download automatically when you are online and install when you are ready. This is not done behind your back, so if you need the bandwidth then the download can be paused and resumed later. In general I feel that XP Pro is a good investment, but not a must have. It is much better than its predecessors, but high cost, bugs, and some compatibility issues are several reasons to hold off on purchasing XP. If you decide to make the switch then I highly recommend running the Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft. This program will point out hardware and software that are not immediately compatible with XP, but may have patches from the manufacturer. Overall Windows XP Professional is a bright, colourful operating system with some great added features. It is very stable and reliable and it incorporate excellent user support. I would highly recommend upgrading if you own Windows 98 or any other previous version. I'm still exploring the potential of Windows XP and I seem to find new features every day!
Rating:
Summary: Given a refresh in the look, but still Windows
Review: It's still Windows through-and-through, though it is indeed more stable, and has had the interface refreshed.
Rating:
Summary: it was worth the money
Review: Originally I had purchased VS .NET and immediately realized I was forced to purchase 2000 or XP. Being that Microsoft always updates things instantly I got XP anyways. I heard it really wasn't that great, but now I realize those people are just negative. Windows XP is the greatest thing yet. I really like the way it looks and its faster than any Windows I've used. I have used Windows 95 and Windows 98 at home. Windows 95 [stunk]. Windows 98 was the most reliable. I thought Windows 2000 (which I used on campus) pretty much [stunk] too. Windows XP was great. However, if I was to complain I don't like the fact that its a resource hog. I would suggest you purchase a bit more ram for your computer before installing this. Otherwise it will suck the life out of your hard drive. Another bad thing is it really is still in beta mode, being that since I bought I have about 15 patches that have been automatically installed to update windows.
Rating:
Summary: Best Windows Version & Even Better than a Mac
Review: I've used Windows 95, 98 and 2000. I've also used an OS 9 and 10 Mac. None of them matches Windows XP. It is simply the best, hands down. I even like it better for using Photoshop and Illustrator than a Mac and that statement is virtually heresy in the art world! First, it is not buggy and not crash prone. It reliably works all of the time. Windows 2000 was very good in that regard and XP is even better. 95 and 98 were terrible regarding crashes and reliability. I'm also using Windows Media Player 9 with it, which is a terrific player, and I'm even able to use all wma files (1/3 the size) rather than mp3 after using a converter. I stopped using Real Player after getting on this Player 9, which works the best with XP. Second, if I need help on something on my computer, I can have my friend in a different city, also on XP, take over my controls using the Net Meeting feature. He was able to reinstall a program for me that was giving me fits. Third, there are loads of special programs that work especially in conjunction with XP that further enhance it, such as Firegraphic 5 where you can see all your images and view them in filmstrips, slide shows and big versions. And that's just one of many special programs that I've used on XP. It is also a delight to go to any website and find that whatever you can download there is compatible with XP. One thing that would really turn me off a Mac, by contrast, is the notice on many programs or features on the web that they haven't developed a version yet for a Mac. I also like the way Windows Explorer works in XP and that it looks better than in any earlier version of Windows. As my giant file cabinet, it is very easy for me to keep everything organized in WE and the thumbnails of my jpgs, tifs, ais, htms and so forth are terrific. The task bar is much improved from 2000 and I found I could even get rid of my pop up remover program because XP makes it so easy to close multiple browser windows with one right click on the task bar on a grouped browser window button. I also get beautiful thumbnails now when I use right click. There is a wonderful XP magazine that comes from the UK (called simply Windows XP) that I would love to see Amazon have available for subscription. This magazine has a wonderful users forum online that is a great help if you need help with XP.
Rating: 
Summary: Red Hat Linux is better than Windows
Review: I have used all versions of Windows (since 3.1 to XP) and I have tried Windows XP and Office XP (I have used it for about 10 months) and all I have to say is that I had to buy more RAM and download more than 45 patches. It's got lots of security bugs. Every month Microsoft discovers about 15-40 new bugs.
Who can trust Microsoft products? I had problems with viruses and other staff as well. When you costumize the look of a specific folder (e.g.: you wanna see icons no tiles), Windoze will change it automatically. So as a long MS-products user I was pretty frustrated until I discovered an alternative: Linux. I downloaded Red Hat Linux 7.3 for free (it's legal). So I switched to Red Hat and recently upgraded to 8.0. I'm really happy with it. I can do the same as I used to do with Microsoft products. Red Hat Linux 8.0 = LESS buggy, 100% virus-FREE, more software included such as OpenOffice, Mozilla, CD burning software , ...
CONCLUSION: there are better and alternative products; now you have a choice: Linux.
Rating:
Summary: Yet another unstable OS from Microsoft...
Review: First and foremost, stay away from this product, because if you are like most of the other people considering XP, you are doing so because you have already plunked down good money on an earlier Microsoft OS that isn't meeting your expectations -- thus your search for an upgrade. With windows XP, this kind of activity (which I admittedly just went through), gives new and poigant meaning to the phrase: "good money after bad". Think about this: if MS couldn't get it right with Windows 3.x, Windows 9x, Windows ME, or any of their "professional" grade OS's, then what makes you think they got it right this time? Let me tell you: they didn't. And there is a great and highly relevent quote from Susan Powter (who usually makes me want to puke) that goes something like this: "doing the exact same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity". Don't be insane, put your money elsewhere this time. Here's why:
1) My PC, which is not even a year old (HP Pavilion 9895, 1.7 Mhtz Pentium 4 Processor, 384 MB R-DRAM, 32 MB Video Card, Windows ME) crashed 15 minutes after the install
2) I had to go and seek more than 11 drivers to get my system working after the install (no folks, they weren't found by the Dynamic Update feature)
3) The anti-piracy functionality that is embedded in the software, FORCES you to contact MS to "activate" your software. This process is SUPPOSED to be simple. Unfortunately, the product keys that are delivered with the software are frequently not recognized by the activation process. This then FORCES you to get on the phone and go through a BUNCH of telephony prompts, that after MORE THAN TEN MINUTES, dump you into a rep who will have the UNMITIGATED AUDACITY to question whether you pirated the software. Once you convince them that you are not a crook, you exchange almost 100 CHARACTERS of anti-piracy codes to complete the activation process (if you think MS is bad at developing OS code, imagine how bad they are at rep-based telephony processes). The whole anti-piracy activation process, which adds absolutely zero-value to the user-experience, can run to more than 20 minutes (ouch! and double ouch!) -- how can these guys continue to make their problems our problems?!?!?!?!?
4) Default coloring scheme gives me a head-ache (I'm not kidding, my head is pounding right now!)
5) If the above isn't enought to steer you away from XP, get this: the printed documentation that comes with this OS runs to a scant 14 pages. Imagine, not including any printed operating instructions in a hundred dollar software package!!! (And for you MS fans, don't even get me started on how lousy the on-line help is) So that's it. Another huge miss from the boys in Redland. Oh well, at least Bill Gates is well paid. The big question I have is how did Apple ever lose to MS when MS continues to put out this kind of junk?
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